English Minghui.org

February 08, 2001

Washington Post: China Mulls Murder Charges for Foreign Journalists

[Editor' note: Chinese government said the video they showed on the state TV was CNN' Is that really true? We' see if this charge against foreign journalists is another way to shift blames to others. Also, the Tiananmen self-immolation has nothing to do with Falun Gong practitioners.] (BEIJING, Feb. 8) Chinese police may seek homicide charges against CNN journalists and other foreign reporters who they allege knew in advance that five members of the banned Falun Gong spiritual group were going to set themselves on fire in Tiananmen Square last month, according to an article published in two state-run newspapers. The article in the Yangcheng Evening News and the Southern Daily said police will consider charging the reporters with "abetting and assisting other people in committing suicide" if they can prove they were involved in planning the Jan. 23incident, which left one woman dead and four more people hospitalized in critical condition, including a 12-year-old girl. It is the latest salvo in the government' escalating campaign to discredit Falun Gong as a dangerous [Chinese government' slanderous word] supported by "Western anti-China forces" and win support for its 18-month effort to crush it. Graphic footage of the self-immolations, including a shot of the young girl, her face charred black, crying out for her mother, is being broadcast regularly on state television and has stirred popular anger against the [group]. The media blitz comes as Beijing prepares to host a delegation that will evaluate its bid for the 2008 Olympic Games. Protests against China' human rights record helped sink the city' bid for the 2000 Games seven years ago, but Chinese officials say the crackdown on Falun Gong should not be used as an excuse to deny the country again. Chinese officials have expressed frustration with foreign journalists who report on the government' repression of Falun Gong, and the article about the investigation into their role in the self-immolations could be seen as an attempt to intimidate them. Displayed prominently on many Chinese Internet sites, the report claimed surveillance video showed six or seven reporters from CNN, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse arriving just 10 minutes before the self-immolations took placeand positioning themselves near the [group] members. It also said the harrowing, close-up shots of the incident broadcast on China Central Television were taken from videotape confiscated from CNN, addressing for the first time questions by overseas Falun Gong leaders about why the government happened to have a camera crew in place to film the incident. But CNN, AP and AFP denied having any advance knowledge the self-immolations were going to take place. AP and AFP said their reporters weren' even in the square at the time. Eason Jordan, CNN' chief news executive and president for newsgathering, said a producer and cameraman witnessed the self-immolations, but only because they were making a routine check of the square for Falun Gong protests on the day before Chinese New Year, which was marked by protests a year ago. He said the footage used in the Chinese television reports could not have come from CNN videotape because the CNN cameraman was arrested almost immediately after the incident began. The close-up shots shown on Chinese television appear to have been taken without any interference from police. In some, the camera is clearly behind police barricades and positioned directly above the apparent [group] members. In addition, footage from overhead surveillance cameras in Tiananmen Square appears to show a man using a small handheld video camera to film the scene, not a large TV news camera. Articles in the Chinese press, particularly those regarding sensitive subjects, are generally approved by several party officials before publication. The newspapers that published this one declined to comment, and a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security did not respond to questions faxed to him. (C) 2001 The Washington Post

What is the Self-immolation Incident Telling the World

[Minghui Net] No matter what people think of the self-immolation incident in Tiananmen Square, five people did set themselves on fire. Was it a Falun Gong practitioners' group self-immolation? Why didn' they go to Tiananmen Square to do so before Jiang Zemin initiated the crackdown on Falun Gong? Falun Gong is a peaceful group that seeks physical health and spiritual enlightenment. Tens of thousands of its members have been sentenced to jail or sent to labor camps, and over one hundred people have been brutally tortured to death while in police custody. Members of this group have appealed peacefully thousands of times. But they have been met with violence in every single attempt to appeal. Every appeal incurred a more intensified persecution. Didn' Jiang Zemin coerce this self-immolation? Was it actually another group' self-immolation to express their grievances? This is not at all something new in today' China. There have been family suicides of unemployed workers; there have been suicides of ordinary citizens who could not find a place to lodge their complaints or grievances; and there have been farmers who committed suicide because they could not afford their heavy financial burden. According to official statistics, there are over two hundred thousand suicide incidents every year. How many of them were not a direct result of this unjust and vicious regime?

CNN: UN committee to hear Falun Gong fears

HONG KONG, China -- A United Nations committee visiting Hong Kong this week will hear concerns from human rights agencies over mounting pressure from Beijing to clamp down on the Falun Gong spiritual group.

Previous day’s articles » | View archive »

Opinion

Two Facts Tell the Whole Story

Falun Dafa in the News

AP: UN Official In HK Doesn't Understand Falun Gong Fuss

The Far Eastern Economic Review: China's Showdown With Falun Gong Has No Winners

AFP: Falun Gong Could Become Increasing Diplomatic Liability for China

New York Times: China Steps Up War on [group], but Some Denounce Attacks

Asian Wall Street Journal: A Stand for Human Rights

Reuters: Dutch Move Raises Falun Gong Stakes for China

CBC News: Ottawa to investigate Falun Gong complaints

Vancouver Sun: [Canadian Foreign Minister] Manley looking into allegations China threatened Falun Gong members in Canada

Edmonton Journal: Falun Gong wants Beijing's envoys expelled Group's lawyer asks Ottawa to lay criminal charges

SCMP: [Canadian Prime Minister] Chretien aims to discuss crackdown on Falun Gong

AFP: Canada Pledges to Investigate Alleged China Threats Over Falun Gong

AFP: Beijing's Pressure on Hong Kong Deepens Distrust in Taiwan

Montreal Gazette: Human rights in China

The Far Eastern Economic Review: Editorial

SCMP: Editorial - Unwanted Withdrawal

CNN: HK urged to stand up to Beijing

Washington Post: Testing Hong Kong

AFP: Seven More Falun Gong Followers Die in Chinese Custody

BBC Monitoring: Democrat Martin Lee Says Tung "Toeing Beijing Line" on Falun Gong

Reuters: Seven Falun Gong members die in China say HK group

Edmonton Journal: Falun Gong gentle outlaws in exile - Truth, compassion, forbearance

Deaths

Dafa Practitioners Wang Lixin, Xiao Yanglong and Song Wanxue Were Tortured to Death

We Cherish the Memory of Fellow Falun Gong Practitioner, Qi Fengqin

Validate the Fa

Hongfa in Tibet (2)

Personal Accounts of Persecution

Focus Topics

Self Immolation Hoax

Biggest propaganda stunt of all time, cooked up to make Falun Gong look bad

Deaths Confirmed

The true death count is likely many times higher

Organ Harvesting Crimes

Tens of thousands likely killed for their organs

So-Called "1400 Deaths"

A fundamental mistruth in the false propaganda against Falun Gong

April 25 Peaceful Appeal

The most peaceful protest in history is called a 'siege' by top party brass

Prosecuting Jiang Zemin

Bringing the prime culprit in the persecution to justice

More Basic Truths

A primer on the web of lies upon which the persecution was built

Learn About Falun Dafa

An advanced practice of self-cultivation freely available to all

What is Cultivating Like?

Remarkable first-hand accounts of experiences practicing Falun Gong

World Falun Dafa Day

May 13 - a day for both celebration and solemn remembrance

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